The present invention relates to insulation modules, and more particularly to insulation modules which are easy to manufacture and install.
In many industrial applications it is necessary to insulate the interior walls of a high temperature chamber or furnace, such as the wall of a fire heater in a refinery or petrochemical plant. The walls of such structures are usually formed of metal and the preferred insulation is formed of blankets of refractory fibrous material such as ceramic fiber folded into modules.
The modules are attached to the wall in a variety of ways. The modules usually have some type of attachment brackets imbedded internally which are used to secure the module to the shell using bolts, self tapping screws, studs embedded in bulky solid material or studs that are first welded to the shell in patterns to match the insulation modules. The latter requires that each module be subsequently mounted onto each stud. All of these methods have disadvantages such as penetration of the shell, bulkiness or excessive time required to lay out the fastener pattern, drilling the bolt hole, or welding the studs in place using conventional welding processes which do not allow for verifying the integrity of the weld. Additional time is then required to locate the module on the bolt or stud and install a nut between the blanket folds or layers in the insulation, with the installer working in an area where he cannot see the work being done. This is a slow and tedious process.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,706,870, 3,819,468 and 3,993,237 all relate to high temperature insulation modules and methods and apparatus for installation. However, these references relate to fibrous insulation modules incorporating bulky, rigid blocks of refractory material having embedded therein self contained internal fasteners as a means for stud welding the module to a furnace wall. The fasteners are not readily located through the layers of insulation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an insulation module assembly that can be stud-welded directly through the assembly to a wall that requires insulation using standard readily available electric arc stud welding equipment and components.
A further object is to provide such an assembly which allows for the integrity of the weld to be verified.
A still further object is to provide such an assembly that is simple to install and that can be installed quickly and efficiently.